Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

[Solomon_Man]

All,
Went on the water (Maumee River) the other night with the wife in our little SmokerCraft 14ft. For about a 7 mile cruise.

It has a little outboard gem pushing us along that the last few times out has given me some minor grief and I am coming to you folks for some advice.

The outboard in its recent lifetime has had new coils,points,wires,plugs, carb rebuild and impellor.

Basically the fastwin always starts but the problem of power has been a ongoing issue. I traced it down to carb dial in issues.

To be more clear.... I start the outboard up and dial it in (according to directions on Cowl) and we are good to go for quite a while. Then I have to dial it in again and then cruise and then dial it in again and cruise...you get the idea. I thought at first it was something majorily wrong but as I watch the carb needles... I watched them turn out of adjustment as I cruise along..... after I just adjusted it...This unexpected needle movement knocks me out of "dial" in and cause me to reset it back to the prior position and we are good to go.

Any ideas on what I can do to prevent this from occurring?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

When you rebuilt the carb, Ill assume you put adequate packing washer in? There should be at least 2 per needle. If you did, the packing nut simply needs to be tightened. Snug her up good once dialed in.

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

When you rebuilt the carb, Ill assume you put adequate packing washer in? There should be at least 2 per needle. If you did, the packing nut simply needs to be tightened. Snug her up good once dialed in.

HighTrim/All,

I agree with you the packing nut, my manual says Needle Gland Screw, as being the source of the problem. as the problem first appeared I noticed the Gland screw was loose so I finger tightened it again. Upon inspection this morning its still snug.

I am not really sure how many packing washers are in it...I know in some of my other kits I swear there have been only one per needle (did I miss something?)...at least one that fits anyways...I am assuming you are referring to the felt type washers that set in before the Needle Gland Screw and then the needle goes into....

I do have a rebuild kit sitting if we need to pull one for this carb....Is there supposed to be 2 washers in every carb kit for each needle in the Johnson/Evinrude from the 1950's? (1953-1958)

I actually could use just those washers as I had a mishap on another outboard carb thats waiting for a tiller currently. Are these available seperately? I over tightened the gland screw on that outboard and it kind of fell apart. So currently reusing original which allowed me to tank test without any major issues. I was lucky to have the original in one piece but it came out with the gland screw.

I did not rebuild this carb...previous owner did...who was very knowledgable in carbs/engine rebuilding. The fellow was a neighbor who raced a alcohol dragster professionally and had his far share of classic cars. The guy is now deceased but he had racks of rebuilt 350s, I believe he said 17 in the garage, for different projects/races/etc. Its possible he may have made a mistake on the rebuild but initially I did not have this problem. It popped up after a year or so of good use.

I am open to suggestions or taking a look further into the carb. Please educate me on this part of the carb as I am very curious of the procedure around those felt washers. Is there a torque spec? I noticed on some of my other carbs there are springs between the gland screw top and the needle handle.....this carb has none. I also on a outboard once cleaned up some plumbers tape but I do not think thats a good solution.

Thanks for the help and suggestions,
Chris

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

I buy them in bags of 10 at NAPA, Ill get the part number for you.

Hand tight is not enough, set the needle, then put a 7/16" wrench on it to snug it up. No torque spec for this, just feel.

 

[lindy46]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

Tighten that packing nut so it takes a little effort to turn the needle.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

In a pinch, I have taken cotton thread, wrapped it in the opposite direction of the threads in the area where the packing will seat, and then lightly greased it to keep it in place. The thread should take up an area no more than 1/16" wide on the shaft of the needle and no more than the thickness of one of the packing washers. Basically, you're making a packing washer. Wrapping it opposite the threads keeps it from unwrapping when you screw it back into the carb. Then tighten the gland nut back down snugly...

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

All,
Thanks for the information!

High Trim, I would be very interested in that part number.

I will not be able to give it a go until the weather clears up here in NorthWest Ohio. Its currently raining and in the 50-60's.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

18-7106 is the part number.

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

High Trim,
Thanks for the part number will be ordering today!

Chris

 

[Solomon_Man]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

I buy them in bags of 10 at NAPA, Ill get the part number for you.

Hand tight is not enough, set the needle, then put a 7/16" wrench on it to snug it up. No torque spec for this, just feel.

So I snug it till its compressed?

I have read the "Cheap Outboards" book which suggests leaving the old packing in on a carb rebuild....Will it be beneficial to have two packing washers per needle?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[HighTrim]

Re: Johnson 1953 18 Hp Fastwin.....Keeping carb tuned....

TIghten it so that it takes some effort to turn the needle as stated, it should not easily turn with just minimal pressure. I realize that is vague, sorry. I have read that book, dont remember that part. I have NO idea why you would ever leave them in, seems silly to me. I use a dental pick and very tiny flat head screwdrive to pick the old stuff out, and ALWAYS replace with new. I use minimum 2 per needle, sometimes 3 or 4 depending on model. Refer to the parts manual for clarification on this. 1 is never enough.